On first glance it might have looked like a normal day in the office for Max Verstappen, but a late charge by Lando Norris gave us a dogfight that faintly reminisced of Alonso vs. Schumacher in 2006. Fortunately for the Red Bull-driver the chequered flag came before the McLaren could utilise its DRS, but for the first time in a long while Red Bull, and more perticularly Verstappen, looked vulnerable.
And the reigning champion agreed he was under pressure: “Yeah, I think the whole race I had to push hard, I was really trying, and I made it happen, initially. I think on the medium tyres we were quite strong.
“On the hard tyres it was just a bit more difficult to manage. Especially the last 10-15 laps I had no grip anymore, I was really sliding a lot. I saw Lando closing in, so the last 10 laps I was just flat out.”
Tyre wear, usually one of the best characteristics of the Red Bull-car seemed worse compared to the McLaren, but nonetheless the Dutchman was a happy chap.
“It’s very difficult when the tyres are not working anymore, and you have to go flat out. I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes, luckily we didn’t, and I’m super happy of course to win here today.”
The whole weekend in Imola proved difficult for Red Bull, with Verstappen being off the pace in practice and teammate Sergio Pérez failing to get out of Q2 the dominance from 2023 looks like a past long gone, despite the eight pole positions in a row.
“We changed a lot on the car,” Verstappen explained the sudden turn-around from practice to qualifying. “Of course we didn’t have a lot of information going into the race.
“Maybe that’s why on the hard tyres it was a bit more difficult for us. But I think from where we started the weekend to now, we can be incredibly pleased with the pole and the win, so I will take that.”
